Alone With the Wild
by acciomusic12
Summary: This one-shot describes some of Peeta's last moments in the Hunger Games. Very AU!   There will be a sequel called "Out of the Wild".


Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Suzanne Collins.

A/N: Inspiration struck! I think this will be a one-shot, but I might add on to it later. :)

Enjoy!

It's canon up until the part that Katniss finds Peeta in the mud. She never does, and Peeta never gets cut in the leg by Cato. Everything – and I'm not kidding when I say everything – is changed after that point.

Note: In this version, Clove isn't dead – quite alive, actually.

* * *

><p>Peeta glanced around at the wooded area. There was no one – he was alone, for the time being. The most that could be heard was the soft flowing of the water in the small brook. He sat down against the tree, the leaves crinkling. His eyes glancing around warily, he bent down and took a small sip. He knew that he should be moving, someone could hear him or find him; he wasn't concealed very well.<p>

He took a glance in the rucksack he had found. The bag was bare. He snorted and tossed it in the other direction, and then realized his mistake. He jumped to his feet and ran in the other direction. He didn't stop until he thought he was far enough away from the small brook. He was panting heavily – he couldn't believe he had made such a silly mistake!

When he escaped from the Careers because they were about to turn on him, he had gotten away as fast as he could. He had been grazed in the leg with an arrow, but luckily it hadn't hurt much. The Careers left weren't very good shots, anyways. None of them ever were, really.

He leaned up against another tree, and looked around at his surroundings. He had never been to this part of the arena. He flinched as something crackled. He moved away quickly. Moments later, a rabbit jumped innocently out of the brush. Peeta went in the other direction anyway – you never knew what the Gamemakers might throw at you next.

As he found a small hollow to sit down in, he realized that he had absolutely nothing to eat – but all he could do was rest for the time being. He was still running off of the adrenalin rush of escaping from the Careers. He wished he still had that rucksack that he had thrown away – why had he done that?

He lay down on the hard stone floor of the cave, wincing at the harsh coldness of the stone. His eyelids slowly drooped downwards over his eyes, tired because of the long day – and because of the long day ahead.

* * *

><p>When he reopened his eyes, the soft sounds of rain pattering on the forest floor could be heard. Peeta sighed. He had counted on being able to search for food today, but the rain he was hearing was stopping him. He slid up against one of the walls and shivered with the cold. It was a lot colder than it was yesterday, and the absence of the sun wasn't helping anything.<p>

Peeta crossed his legs and fiddled with the hem of his shirt, if you could call it that. Most of his clothes were in tatters. His once tawny pants were now dark brown, at least what was left of them. The green shirt was barely a shirt anymore, although it did a fairly good job for what he had.

The rain slowed down to a slight drizzle. Peeta stood up and shook himself out. He knew he would have to get out and try to find some food – otherwise, he might never get a chance. You never knew with the Games – the whole forest might be there one second, and the next second be gone.

Peeta stepped out into the woods. The sun still hadn't made an appearance yet, and the air was still slightly chilly. Peeta could still see his breath as he breathed. He knew he would have to be careful – the Careers were probably out looking for him, as they knew he would be out looking for food and other necessary items. He had left them with nothing because his departure was so sudden.

His boots didn't make a sound as he trekked across the forest floor. He scoured the forest for anything that looked edible. He didn't want to take any chances. He trusted his instincts, but he mostly wanted to go by what he had learned during his training and around District 12.

He stepped through the immense, wet piles of leaves, careful not to let one leaf rustle. He had no idea where the Careers were – and personally, he didn't want to find out. He spotted a bush that was spotted with red berries. He moved towards the bush for a closer inspection. He didn't find anything suspicious about them, and they looked safe to eat. He licked one carefully. He decided that he would wait to see if they had any lasting effects on him, and if they didn't, he would eat everything the bush had to offer. If they didn't, well… let's hope that he wouldn't be dead.

He sat up against the rock. The rain had stopped, and now the sun was shining, albeit not that brightly. He didn't like being out in the open like this, but he supposed this would have to do. The trees shaded most of the area, so he figured he would be okay.

Peeta sighed. He wondered how Katniss was doing; maybe she was faring better than he? He didn't know, but he hoped the best for her. Although he was sure she was doing fine – her charm was sure to capture the whole Capitol in supporting her.

He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing about the love thing with her – he hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to her since the Games had started. Honestly, he had no idea what he was doing during his interview with Caesar Flickerman – he was just doing what Haymitch had told him to do. He didn't know if that was the right thing to do or not, but he had done it. And now he needed to face the music.

He sighed. He had waited long enough, and the berries didn't do anything. Of course they didn't do anything – the Capitol couldn't have their tributes dying of starvation now, could they? He shook himself out and pushed himself off of the rock to go and pick all of the berries off of the bush. He put one in his mouth and chewed slowly. He savored the taste, as this might be his last tasty meal – or his last meal on a long time.

He made the trek back to his hideout. He settled against the rock. There wasn't much else to do now – only to sit and wait for the Careers to either find him or –

A trumpet blasted through the air. Peeta jumped, as he was quite used to the peace and quiet that had surrounded him for the past day after escaping from the Careers. He didn't get up, though – it obviously wasn't the Careers or anyone else. Peeta knew who it was – the announcer, Claudius Templesmith – and he knew he was probably inviting everyone to a feast, but he had already turned down the invitation.

"Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately."

He tried to think of what he needed desperately. Water? Food, maybe? He continued to think about it while he listened halfheartedly.

"Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."*

Claudius Templesmith's voice faded. Peeta continued to sit against the wall of the cave, thinking about what the announcer had said. This obviously meant that all of the other tributes left were suffering, because they all desperately needed something. Peeta played with idea of going out into the arena to search for the rest of the tributes, but decided against it. He didn't know the state of the tributes left, and some of them might be out and about, searching to get rid of a few stubborn competitors. He would wait until a few more cannons were shot off, and then maybe he would venture outside.

He looked out of the cave. The sun was already sinking in the sky. He closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he would move. Tomorrow, he would really start to play the Games.

* * *

><p>Peeta's eyes shot open. He could have sworn on his life that he had heard something outside. He didn't dare to move – if it were the Careers, maybe they would go away.<p>

His eyes darted around warily. What should he do? If it were the Careers, he would be dead in no less than five minutes. If it were something else, or maybe another tribute, then he would be dead in ten minutes, give or take a few.

He strained to hear anything else. There were no sounds of anyone breathing, and no footsteps to be heard. He sighed, and crawled across the stone floor of the cave. He'd look, and if he ended up dead, well, he ended up dead. There wasn't really anything else he could do at this point.

He stopped at the entrance of the cave. There was nothing to be seen – except for a steaming hot bowl of soup laying in front of the cave.

Peeta stared at it cautiously. There was no way the Careers could have gotten their hands on this, and he would have been able to hear anyone walking away from the pot, as his position had been close enough to the entrance of the cave. No, this soup had to have been a gift from a sponsor.

He slowly drew out his arm to slide the pot towards him. When nothing happened, Peeta quickly brought the pot inside. He had definitely needed food – all he needed now was water.

Peeta looked up and out of the cave. There was nothing to be seen except for trees and a bird that flew overhead. He ducked back inside, and looked at the pot of soup. Too bad it hadn't came with a ladle – but he supposed it would have to do. After all, who's complaining?

He drunk the soup straight from the pot, wincing at how hot the soup was. But as long as it was hot and not cold, he didn't care.

He had drunk about a quarter of the soup when he stopped. He couldn't finish it now… could he? The soup would get cold and eventually, he wouldn't be able to eat it anymore. Peeta decided to save it, until twenty minutes later when he saw that it wasn't steaming anymore. He couldn't resist – he had to finish the soup.

Five minutes later found Peeta sitting on the floor of the cave, fully satiated. He sighed. He really needed to get back into the Games – sitting on the floor of a cave for the rest of the time wasn't going to help anybody, and frankly, it wasn't any exciting either.

He jumped as a cannon was shot. One down, he thought, and then his eyes drifted closed. Today wasn't very productive, but he would make sure that tomorrow would be.

* * *

><p>Peeta woke up and stretched. The hunger pangs in his stomach were evident, and he was getting extremely thirsty. He needed some water – and soon. He decided that he would go back to the stream that he had left a few days before. That would at least let him get a good supply of water for the time being… he would just use the pot. It was lightweight and not that heavy, even when the soup was in it, so he figured it wouldn't be too hard.<p>

He cautiously made his way out of the cave. Like usual, there was nothing menacing waiting for him as he stepped outside – just Katniss, in her full glory.

"Katniss! What –" He stopped as Katniss held up a hand for him to stop. His voice was scratchy and hoarse from the lack of use.

"Just checking up on you. I don't know if you heard the cannon yesterday…" Katniss trailed off as Peeta nodded his head. "Well, there's only three left – Cato, Thresh, and Clove. The girl, Foxface –" Katniss paused at Peeta's confused look on his face. "She's from District 5. Anyway, they're the only ones left, besides us." Katniss had a scrutinizing look on her face as she stared at Peeta. "Why weren't you at the feast?"

Peeta shrugged his shoulders, not really wanting to answer. What was he supposed to say?

"I didn't want to put my life on the line. At the time, it didn't seem like there was anything that I needed desperately. Now, I need water, though…" He trailed off as he looked at Katniss. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, I've been out and about recently, and all of the water's dried up. As far as I can tell, there's absolutely no water in the arena currently."

Peeta cocked his head. "But that's not the Capitol's style! They have to be wanting a bloodbath or something of the sort…" Peeta trailed off as he saw Katniss nodding her head with an understanding look on her face.

"Of course. They're all driving us to look for a source of water. There's probably at least one source of water here still – and that's where they're trying to drive us to. To the final bloodbath."

Peeta could practically hear the Gamemakers applauding Katniss. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. But one thing he knew for sure – Katniss's theory was most likely correct – but he didn't exactly want to find out.

Katniss looked Peeta up and down. "Well, you seem to be doing all right. I think I'll take my leave, then." She nodded once more at Peeta and disappeared into the trees as quick s she had came.

Peeta shook his head, smiling. That was definitely Katniss's style – to come, and then to leave as fast as she had appeared. He knew that there was something that was weighing on her mind, though, from the way she had held herself and the way her shoulders were slightly drooping. He was known around District 12 for being overly observant, and this is what he noticed. He shook his head, and started off in the opposite direction from where Katniss had came from. He stopped, suddenly. How had Katniss figured out where he was hiding? If she could figure it out, a Career could figure it out. He started jogging slowly, to make the minimum amount of noise and to move as fast as he could. He had to move anyway – he had stayed too long in the cave.

Peeta stopped where the brook that he had visited a couple of days ago was. It looked bone dry – there wasn't one drop of water. He looked down and followed the dry path of where the brook used to be. It remained the same – not one drop of water to be found.

Peeta continued to walk along the side of the brook, or what it was now. He stopped when he reached the end of it. Ahead of him was a large hill. He walked up the hill until he reached the crest. There, on the other side, sat a large, crystal blue lake. Filled to the top with water.

He gazed at it unblinkingly. He couldn't believe that he had already found the main water source that the Gamemakers had wanted to drive them towards. He resisted the urge to go to it, and sat down on a rock among the trees. He knew he was in dangerous territory – anyone searching for water could stumble upon him. But he stayed hidden, keeping watch over the lake, watching to see if anyone would appear.

There! He saw two figures – probably Cato and Clove – approaching the lake. They very obviously were throwing away all ideas of caution. Their main goal was to get to the lake, and they definitely got there.

The two Careers, both from District 2, sat and drank almost all of the water that they could hold in. Peeta had to hold in a laugh – they looked absolutely hilarious, gulping down water like that.

He wondered absently where Thresh and Katniss were. He knew that they were both trying to find the coveted water source, but he didn't know where they were. He knew that Katniss wouldn't hurt him if she found him, but he also knew that Thresh wouldn't blink an eye if he had to kill him to get rid of the competition.

He stared impassively as he watched Thresh come out of the large patch of overgrowth on the far side. He didn't think Cato and Clove had seen him yet, as they were still gulping down water as fast as they could drink it.

Peeta sighed. He would probably win this, the way things were going – Thresh, Cato, and Clove were out in the open, and Cato and Clove would probably finish Thresh off. If Katniss made an appearance, then she would probably fight Cato and Clove, because she liked to face things up front. Then, Cato and Clove would probably think they were the last ones left, or he wasn't going to make an appearance.

He watched as Thresh approached the water hole slowly. The hole was actually pretty big, at least 50 meters in diameter. He noticed Cato had realized Thresh had found the water hole, and he got Clove's attention. They both nodded as they went in opposite directions around the lake. Thresh didn't notice them until they were about half way around the lake on both sides. He tried to sprint for the trees, but Cato had caught him. Clove was a fast runner, and had cut him off in front, causing Thresh to slow down. Cato took his knife and brutally murdered Thresh.

Peeta turned away, disgusted. He couldn't believe that Cato had done something like that. He turned back when the cannon boomed. He watched as the hovercraft took away Thresh's body.

He started when he saw Katniss running out of the trees, straight at Cato and Clove. _No, Katniss, don't do this, you're going to die…_ Peeta pleaded, but to no avail. Katniss ran straight at them, straight to her death.

Cato smiled a nasty smile that even Peeta could see from his position. He raised his knife, and another cannon was shot off. This time, it was for Katniss.

A second hovercraft in that many minutes came and picked up Katniss's body. Peeta stared unbelievingly, disbelief written all over his face.

And then he remembered what Katniss and him were supposed to be – star crossed lovers. He let his tears run down his face for Katniss, for his fellow tribute. He let his tears run down his face for his fellow tributes – and all of the innocent people that fell for the ruthless Capitol.

* * *

><p>He dully watched as Cato and Clove quietly celebrated over their two kills. They knew that it was only them and Peeta left – and Peeta wasn't about to take a chance with them.<p>

He rearranged himself on the bed of leaves he was sitting on. He knew that Cato and Clove would be reluctant to leave the water hole, but he also knew that they would be looking for him.

He realized that Cato and Clove had already left the water hole. He pinched himself. He couldn't afford to be so oblivious – especially when it was him against Cato and Clove. They could be behind him for all he knew.

He whipped his head around and sighed. Thank goodness they weren't standing there, knife poised, ready for attack.

Instead, they were in front of him, Cato smiling menacingly, with Clove twirling a sword.

"Hello, Peeta. We've seen that you have found the water hole." Cato said, albeit slightly pleasantly.

"Yes, yes, I have. Before you did, I might add," Peeta replied, glancing around warily. If they were going to try to propose an alliance, he wasn't taking the bait. If he did, it would only be to his advantage. Plus, he had some idea of what Cato was trying to do… and betrayal was only one of his plans.

"Ah, a worthy opponent, Cato," Clove said, watching Cato. Peeta decided that she must also know what Cato was planning, but maybe only half of it.

Cato extended a hand towards Peeta, as if he were trying to help him to get up. Peeta decided that was precisely what Cato's motive was. Noticing that both of hands weren't near any of Cato's weapons or his own weapons, or Clove's for that matter, he took the hand and swiftly pulled himself up. He brushed off his clothes, feigning nonchalance, when really his flight instincts were screaming at him to run.

"I've rethought your inclusion with the Careers, or what's left of us," Cato chuckled at his own wittiness, while Peeta and Clove looked on disparagingly, "and I've decided that maybe we can become allies. Even though we're the only ones left, I've decided that maybe we can hold out as long as we can. Deal?" Cato held his hand out again, only this time it was to make a deal.

"Okay," Peeta said, and shook his hand. Cato smiled to himself.

"Alright then. Do you want to go down to the lake? If you've been sitting up here, watching us, then you must be quite thirsty, yes or yes?"

"Yes," Peeta replied, as they walked down to where the District 2 tributes had made camp. He was actually quite thirsty, but he also noticed how Cato had skirted around the them killing Thresh. He chose to disregard it and settled down to take a drink. The water was cool and refreshing as a ran down his throat, and he automatically reached for more.

Cato laughed as he saw Peeta reaching for more water. Clove chuckled along as Peeta turned around and glared at them. They became slightly subdued, but still continued chuckling under their breath.

Peeta turned around. "Do you want to call it a night? The sun is almost down, and it's been an especially tiring day for me."

Cato looked at Clove and she nodded. "Alright, Peeta. We only have one sleeping bag saved, though, we've been taking turns sleeping in it for the past few days." Peeta looked at both of them. "It's Clove's turn tonight," Cato added.

Peeta hid his feelings of disbelief and shock from appearing. He couldn't believe that Cato was being this obvious. Maybe it was the joy in knowing he was one night away from winning the Games… or so he thought.

"It's alright, I have no problem with sleeping on the ground. It's what I've been doing the past few nights anyways."

After Cato and Clove nodded, they moved to take up their positions, Clove in the sleeping bag, and Cato a little ways from her on the ground. Peeta moved farther away. He knew what was about to happen, and he was fully prepared.

* * *

><p>He awoke to muffled screams. He smirked knowingly to himself, proud of himself for figuring out what was going to happen. He didn't move, not wanting to let Cato know that he was awake.<p>

From the beginning, he had known that Cato was set up to betray each and every Career, just as he had betrayed him. He knew that Cato was only in the Games for himself. He had noticed that Cato had never helped any other one of the Careers – his food was his food, and he wouldn't share anything. Peeta knew that Cato was going to betray Clove and kill her while she was sleeping, and he was going to try to kill Peeta while he was sleeping as well. This would leave him as the lone victor.

Peeta knew this would happen eventually, but not this soon. When Cato said that it was Clove's turn to sleep in the sleeping bag, he knew that it was intentional. Cato had intentionally disposed of the other sleeping bag, making sure that they would be taking turns. It was a bonus that they had found Peeta the same night that Clove was supposed to take the sleeping bag. It would be so much easier to kill both of them.

Peeta couldn't hear anymore screams from Clove, and he also heard a cannon go off, and Cato cursing. He guessed that Cato had forgotten about the cannon going off, and that it might wake Peeta up. However, Peeta still feigned sleep. He knew how he was going to do this, and how he was going to kill Cato.

He heard a quiet sigh of relief, and quick steps coming over to where he had taken up residence to sleep. He heard Cato clean off his knife, and heard Cato breathing over him. When he was sure that Cato was in a good position, Peeta jumped up, making sure that the knife wasn't in the right position to kill himself as he jumped up, and slammed the knife in Cato's direction.

He heard Cato gagging as the knife jammed in his throat. Blood was pouring out all over Cato. The cannon boomed, and Peeta stared at Cato's body. Had he really done that? Yes, he told himself. He did it for Katniss and for all of the other innocents that had died in Cato's hands.

He looked up as he saw the hovercraft that was coming to pick up Cato's body. He also saw another hovercraft. He jumped as he heard another trumpet blast and a booming voice rang out over the arena.

"AND PEETA MELLARK, TRIBUTE OF DISTRICT 12, HAS WON THE 74TH HUNGER GAMES!" Claudius Templesmith boomed out over the arena. Except there was only one person to hear him in the arena – and that was Peeta Mellark.

The hovercraft slowly touched the ground. People were running out of the vehicle straight at Peeta. He stood, staring impassively at them. They rushed at him, and pushed him towards the hovercraft.

As he made his way inside, he had to close his eyes for a couple seconds to ward away the bright whiteness of the room. He felt the hovercraft lifting off, opening his slightly, still squinting.

Before he knew it, he was hoisted onto a hospital bed. Soon, the light faded. They must have forced me to take a sedative, Peeta thought sluggishly, before he fell into a dark and heavy sleep.

* * *

><p>He woke up on the train back to District 12, Veera's too-white smile glaring back at him. Veera, who was one of his stylists, was hovering over him, wearing a short teal dress with dozens and dozens of sparkling sequins. Peeta wanted to turn away in disgust.<p>

"Honey! Oh my gosh! I'd never thought I'd see you again! Like, and now I get to pretty you up again for your interviews, and your victory tour, and…" Veera gushed while Peeta tuned her out. He wanted to bang his head on the table, although he was sure that would hurt. He had forgotten about the victory tour!

Veera was almost done with her ramblings. "Oh, and you're such a sweetheart! When you had charmed everyone at your interview with Caesar, I thought I was going to die right there you were so adorable!" Veera looked him over. "Well, let's get you out of bed, shall we, dearie? We need to get you dressed up for your interview with Caesar!" Veera pranced off in the other direction.

Peeta swung his legs around the side of the bed, shifting as he did so. He didn't feel any twinges of pain, and he felt _too_ clean. It was so unnatural, and Peeta felt extremely uncomfortable. It was like when the stylists had cleaned him up past perfection before the Games had started.

He saw Veera open the door, her snow white hair streaked with hot pink bouncing unnaturally on her head. "Okay, honey, we're ready for you!" Veera led him into the next room, where he saw an army of stylists holding various objects. Peeta groaned. He couldn't believe that he had to go through all this, just for winning the Hunger Games. Couldn't they give the victor a bit of peace before he was prettied up to go to his interview? He just wanted to sleep, frankly.

But inwardly, Peeta smiled. He was out of the wild. And that was all he cared about.

* * *

><p>*This text was taken directly from the book, "The Hunger Games". I do not own these words.<p>

A/N: Whoo! That's over! *wipes forehead*

I hope you guys liked it! That has to be my best work so far (like I have anything else to go on) xD

Anyways, there should be a sequel to this called "Out of the Wild" when I get the chance to get a few chapters of "Twists in Time" out. This'll probably be called the Wild series… hmmm…

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! I want to know how much my hard work really paid off and how much you guys liked it!


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